president. noise in store for a lot of holiday shoppers. what you might encounter if you visit walmart in the next few days. off the street, the man who was the voice of elmo leaves sesame street in a controversy over his personal life. what now for the character beloved by children and their parents around the world? is it the end of the password? a report tonight that could have you changing yours before the end of this broadcast. "nightly news" begins now. good evening, while we may be close to some big news out of the middle east, a cease-fire that may be enacted, it is the middle east after all, and it was another day of violence there. rockets being fired back and forth. israeli troops gather for a possible ground invasion of gaza. tonight president obama has sent hillary clinton to the middle

east to see if something can be done to quiet the fight that the world has been watching for a week. earlier today it seemed that cease-fire was all but done, but instead, it's been one of the most lethal days of the conflict yet. and tonight it goes on. our team is on the ground tonight. we begin with nbc's stephanie gosk in jerusalem. stephanie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. even egyptian president mohammed morsi hinted there was a deal. but late today, a spokesperson for hamas, said there would be no cease-fire, at least not tonight. making secretary clinton's job here on the ground even more difficult. secretary of state clinton cut her trip to asia short, diverting to israel to personally help shepherd a possible cease-fire. >> the goal must be a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of israelis and palestinians alike. >> reporter: making her task more difficult, the u.s. has no diplomatic relationship with

hamas. a group it labels a terrorist organization. so egyptian president mohammed morsi is playing a key role as intermediary. >> the critical challenge is going to be to make sure that everybody understands the commitments that have been made, the same way, so there's no misunderstandings. >> reporter: even with diplomacy in high gear, today was one of the st violence days yet. an israeli soldier was killed. the first since the conflict began. 150 incoming rockets, 30 alone aimed at a southern town. did you run down the stairs? >> yes. >> reporter: this family narrowly escaped a direct hit on their house. how many people were in the house at the time? >> six people. >> reporter: six people? >> i, my wife and four children. >> just in the last week -- >> reporter: the israeli government says their goal is to stop rocket attacks like this for good. >> we don't think any country in the world would deal with such a situation. >> reporter: near the border,

israeli soldiers still wait anxiously for an order to inv e invade. >> we're about to go into bombs and fire. nobody wants to go into fire. >> just over the border as the sun sets, israel unleashed a volley of artillery in northern gaza. the beginning of another night of heavy bombardment. stephanie gosk, nbc news, jerusalem. >> reporter: this is richard engel in gaza, the storm before the calm. a flurry of violence in gaza today. israel bombed hamas' main bank overnight, and a half dozen houses of militant commanders this morning. in this one, killing a suspected militant and his two young sons. it didn't feel like a cease-fire was coming at all. hamas retaliated with more than 100 rockets including one for jerusalem. it missed but wasn't shot down. as dozens of palestinians were

being treated for injuries, word from egypt that a truce would be in place by the day's end came as a shock. then israel switched into really high gear, using the last few hours to target four cars of suspected militants. killing more than a dozen palestinians and two journalists from a pro hamas tv station. palestinian families suddenly began flooding into schools. they were frantic, overloaded with blankets, arriving packed in cars. on horse drawn carts, on tractors. we're doomed this woman said, we've been kicked out of our homes. more rushed into classrooms, looking for shelter. >> people are screening in here after these leaflets were dropped on their homes. they say in arabic, immediately evaluate your houses by order of the israeli military. it's created something of a panic here, and people think an israeli invasion could be imminent.

israel said it dropped leaflets so civilians can avoid conflict zones. for many here, this felt like a cruel trick. hundreds of thousands of gazans ordered to move away from the israeli border with little notice. and told to move into a tiny area. we are a family of 150 people. where are we to go this woman asks? after a long day of uncertainty, tonight israeli jets are bombing across the gaza strip. it's the heaviest night of bombardment so far. there's no truce yet, and from here, it's not clear one's coming. brian? >> richard engel inside gaza for us tonight. richard, thanks. because this is all moving fast, because it now truly involves the united states, we thought we'd talk a bit more with our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell in our d.c. newsroom. andrea, the significance of the american president ordering the american secretary of state into the breach at this hour? >> it's very important, it's very significant. this could be one of hillary

clinton's final trips, only in the closing months of the administration, she's being sent in as a closer, to try to negotiate, if not a cease-fire, at least a cooling off period, a de-escalation, to try to win more time and prevent israel from invading. there really does seem to be very close synchronization with israel. there's no distance here between israel and the united states. netanyahu tonight in meetings with her thanked her profusely, thanked the united states for the iron dome defense system. the most important meeting is tomorrow with egypt's president morsi. morsi wants american aid for the survival of egypt, and she wants morsi to really pressure hamas to pull back and come up with some permanent agreement. interestingly clinton was going only briefly to ramallah, to the west bank. it will be more than two years since she's been there. that tells you everything, that the more moderate branch of the palestinians really are irrelevant to all of this. the real power is political power, at least, with hamas. >> our chief foreign affairs

correspondent andrea mitchell in d.c. tonight. andrea, thanks. in this country we have been reporting on the rush among some big retailers out there to push the traditional black friday shopping day frenzy into thursday which, of course, is thanksgiving day. now, on top of that, it looks like if you plan on lining up outside your local walmart, you may have company in the form of protesters. our report tonight on all of it from nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: where they expect to see signs advertising black friday bargains, walmart shoppers may instead be greeted by this. signs of discontent from walmart workers promising 1,000 protests by the end of the week. >> we are human beings and not just animals that they can just take for a joke. >> reporter: some employees have already walked out, protesting walmart's plans to open early on thanksgiving. and demanding better schedules, less expensive health care and a raise in the minimum hourly pay. greg fletcher has worked at

walmart for six years, said his hours have been cut, making it hard to make ends meet. >> after all these attempts, they continued to retaliate, to threaten people's jobs, to lower their hours, lower their pay. >> reporter: walmart is downplaying the protests, saying it only expects a handful. >> this is the super bowl of retail, this is the big day. >> reporter: the company has filed a complaint with the national labor relations board, accusing the united food and commercial workers union of unlawfully interfering, even though it doesn't represent walmart employees. >> we think our workers are getting really bad advice from the unions. while they do have rights and we respect those rights, there are some actions that we will take if people don't follow our company policies. >> reporter: now, walmart insists it does have a plan in place for black friday. the company employs 1.4 million associates in the u.s. it's unclear how many of them would participate in any picketing.

and how it will influence all those shoppers looking for their holiday bargains. >> kristen dahlgren on the retail story for us be to the. kristen, thanks. now to a huge story today and its impact on the children and their parents across this country and around the world who are fans of elmo on sesame street. the long-time puppeteer and voice of elmo resigned today because of a relationship with a man in his personal life. and a heads up here, if you have kids in the room right now, use discretion. this is a real life story about a beloved character. our report tonight from nbc's chris jansing. >> reporter: for 28 years, kevin brought elmo to life on sesame street, turning a minor character into an icon. ♪ la-la-la-la elmo's world >> reporter: but today he resigned, the same day he was hit with a $5 million lawsuit. a 24-year-old man claims he had a sexual relationship with clash

nearly a decade ago, when he was 15 and clash 43. >> if i had known this was a recurring thing, or that i wasn't special and this wasn't a unique circumstance, i would have said something much sooner. >> reporter: just last week, a 24-year-old made a similar allegation, then recanted. calling it a sad day, sesame workshop released a statement saying, none of us, especially kevin want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization. unfortunately, the controversy surrounding kevin's personal life has become a distraction. in an interview in september, the show's executive producer said clash was a driving force behind the success. >> part of it is the magic of kevin as a performer. he really channels a 3.5-year-old when he performs that character. >> reporter: so widely admired, clash was the subject of a documentary, being elmo, a puppeteer's journey, last year. elmo has been a big part of the lucrative merchandising of sesame street. according to tax filings,

royalties brought in nearly $45 million in 2009. >> whenever there's an attack on a much loved brand, there's a lot of outpouring of support as a result, almost as if the public is lining up behind the brand saying, hey, we're with you. >> reporter: for clash, it's the end of a storied career with a show he described lovingly just months ago. >> i think it's so wonderful to be part of a show that really starts a child, helps with the parent. >> reporter: today in a statement, clash said he was resigning with a very heavy heart. and hopes to resolve these personal matters privately. in the meantime, sesame street says production of its 43rd season will not be affected. chris jansing, nbc news, new york. there are late new developments tonight in the house explosion in indianapolis that left two people in a neighboring house dead, and the entire neighborhood area in ruins. law enforcement sources told the indianapolis star they believe

gas was intentionally released into the house, and the spark somehow remotely triggered that led to the blast. search warrants have been execu executed, two people have been questioned in this case, which is now being treated as a homicide investigation. still ahead for us tonight, what you need to know about what some are calling the death of the computer password. and later, some dedicated guys who are making a difference where health is needed which right now happens to be their own backyard.

as we mentioned, we're taking an in depth look tonight at computer security, given who's been in the news lately, and an e-mail scandal that's already cost the head of the cia his job. can you rely on personal passwords to protect secrets in

the computer? security experts say there will have been 1 billion hacking attempts by the time 2012 is out. even as the hackers are getting better, password protection is not. our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: the evil geniuses who hacked into nancy's online accounts, deleted everything, including a book she was writing, even changed the name of her pet and sent out e-mails asking for cash. >> they had sent out more than 10,000 e-mails. anyone i had ever interacted with, since the day i had e-mail received an e-mail, a desperate plea for money. >> reporter: she admits she made the most common mistake, all of her passwords were the same. too many of us are using the same user name over and over again. often it's an e-mail address, and then the same password. the most commonly used password is password. and then, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or

very often, let me in. even if you think your password is smart, how hard would it be for a hacker who's already in to get deeper into your online life. >> don't use things that are on your facebook page, don't use your pet's name, don't use your high school mascot. >> reporter: the more your social media accounts are linked the easier for someone to learn about you to guess at credit card and other passwords. the senior writer for wire warns even his 19 character password couldn't stand up to determined hackers. they deleted everything and set up a different password. >> someone could take a little bit from account a, use it to get into account b. maybe neither of those things are a big deal, but wunlsz they're inside your e-mail, they're inside your bank, they can clean out your account. >> reporter: to guard against that, experts suggest setting multiple layers of i.d. request

authentications -- give fake answers or answers that no one could ever find anywhere online. >> for the most critical passwords in your life. bank accounts, you want to change it every 60 to 90 days. >> the ultimate password technology uses typing rhythm or iris scans. that's only used for the most secure systems. >> it makes me feel violated, especially when money is involved. >> reporter: as most of us use decades old password technology against 21st century criminals. tom costello, nbc news washington. up next here tonight, an apology that took more than half a century.

you know, the old expression riding high in april? the rest of the lyric may be pumping your own gas in november. mitt romney had a campaign plane, secret service detail and motorcades just weeks ago. he was spotted pumping his own gas in california today. looking unlike the man we saw on the campaign trail. he later showed up at disneyland. earlier in the week, he took his wife ann to the twilight movie,

later to sammy's pizza. a local place. on the up side he has his life and family life back, after most of six years spent pursuing the presidency. those looking to rent a car at the last minute as part of thanksgiving travels could be out of luck in parts of the country hit by sandy. the storm destroyed a lot of rental cars. to say nothing of family cars, buses, police cars, fire trucks. the rental companies say the shortage is in the thousands. just about every obituary you will read about former senator warren rudman will contain the word feisty. that's for good reason. he preferred the label crotchety new englander. he died today, the new hampshire republican was best known for graham rudman, the act that was meant to force the feds to balance the budget. he was a korean war veteran, a bronze star recipient who years

later said, once you've seen combat not much else in life will intimidate you. and in his life, not much else did. he was a former boxer, a syracuse grad, a lawyer, he champion justice suitor for the supreme court and served on a panel that all but predicted a 9/11 style attack earlier. he was a fierce critic of the direction the gop has taken in recent years. warren rudman was 82 years old. there's an intriguing headline out of hollywood. the son of the founder of the trade paper "the hollywood reporter" is apologizing for what he's calling hollywood's holocaust, the black list that helped destroy many careers in the '40s and '50s, accusing those on the list of being communist simm pathi izizers ban the day. his father may have been motivated by revenge after his plans to build his own movie studio failed and he turned on the same industry he covered. when we come back, making a difference in a place that's always felt like paradise to the

folks who live there. but just not right now.

finally tonight, if you come visit us here in new york city over the holidays, you'll likely see just one of two cities. manhattan is glittering and bustling, and the streets are

packed, the stores are packed and the tree out back is up. drive toward the coast, to the places on the water that were ruined by the storm three weeks ago, and you'll find that life has largely stood still. the good news, most people are finding a way to help their neighbors. that includes the rockaways on the coast of the south of here where a group of men all local dads who call themselves the gray beards are making a difference. their story tonight from nbc's katy tur. >> reporter: across the bay from the brightly lit new york city skyline, a donated generator powers a meeting of the gray beards. >> just knocking on every single door is not impossible. >> reporter: over a can of bud, this home grown charity is plotting a rockaway comeback. >> we have to remind people, we're all in the same boat. >> the group of 180 firefighters, cops, executives and lawyers are the guys who make new york city work. keep things safe, and since 9/11, the guys who have made it their duty, even while off duty to help.

the man who answered the call for help need help themselves. nearly every one of these guys lost something in the storm. some, everything. >> i'm not the type of person who's ever going to ask for anything. nor would anybody else in this community. sometimes it's necessary. >> three weeks later, blackened streets, skeletons of homes and trash as far as the eye can see are still the norm here at rockaway. colleen mercer is minutes away from the first hot shower she's had in her house since sandy. all because she knows this guy, literally named guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy. >> now we're going to have heat for thanksgiving, which is awesome. >> reporter: 100 grand you've raised? >> so far we're a little over $100,000. we'd like to add a couple zeros on to that to really make a difference. >> reporter: the money goes to those who are suffering here. just one look at a ripped off wall, exposing a still made bed.

the scope of the loss is overwhelming. >> i'm known as the emotional guy in the neighborhood. i love this neighborhood. the water may have washed away a lot, but for them to live and work in a place like this will always be paradise. katy tur, nbc news, new york. >> if you wish to contact or contribute to the gray beards you can do so on our website tonight. for us, that's our broadcast on a tuesday evening. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

right now at 6:00, home for the holiday, but it's getting wet. our chief meteorologist has our updated forecast. new lows for hp stock tonight as the company deals with its latest bad financial decision. and police ask your help in finding the woman in this surveillance video. what she's accused of doing. and good evening, everyone. >> we begin with the huge admission by a silicon valley giant. they say, quote, we screwed up, to the tune of nearly $9 billion. >> tech veteran hewlett-packard admitting it made a mistake while also pointing the finger of blame to a company it purchased. our business and tech reporter is here to make sense of it all. scott, what does it mean for the consumer? >> when you break it down and move away